The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, February 10, 1907, Page 8

By Faith Yarknarf From the song of, the spls Apd the dirty old dud Led winge to fy ko) e set g of sum, Whe singing is done are wasbed into the sky. like to wait for linen while the wash you was sent in a sailing vessel half to the months for a ed shirt or a dainty froek! Who ever heard of such a thing? Yet this s w es ez and the s de ode men and men of fas did in the days of Marie Antoinette. The Queen, hearing of the snow-white garments worn by & ng woman, a ger in Paris, sent for her a ea she had recently come f the island of San Domingo, thousands of miles from France Straightway ie Antoinstte or: er s to be shipped washing thenceforth -a higher standard of teness the lingerie of the gay it the jll-fated Queen was first to discover the superior San Domingo washing. for the merchants of Bordeaux had been for some time sending their white fabrics to be bleached in the New World. Paris, then, as now, was the center of fashion, but then,as now, the law of supply and demand rarely bal- anced other in the ‘same place. As early as the sixteenth century the aristocrats of the city sent their wash- ing to Holland, where the water from the sand dunes was of such softness as to make the clothes “white and pleas- ing to the touel Weashing as an art each s not so old as one might -suppose from the fact that maukind has been more or less clothed for thousands of years. That some of the ancient elvili- zatl ns included ihe cleansing ‘of gar- mente among their utilities or luguries we know from the mention of certain ctions in the religions of. the €57 the Jew. But the data is of the meagerest, and &s the gar- ments worn were simple of construction he poorer classes lived in slave- like subjection, it is more than likely that clothing not worn by the rich was used . unwashed until it ceased to be serviceable. As soclety reached a stage where changes of garments at certain periods were considered at least advis- sble the methods of cleansing the cestoffs began to recelve atten- tion, and many odd incidents are re- corded in musty mapuscripts by the niclers. jan and and e G2 r Sebastien Mereter tells us “that the shirts of the poer workingman, the teacher and the alerk—(note the com- pany)—pass every fortnight under the brush and the beating stick,” and that “they are scon full of lime and holes. That's why those who have only bne shirt wash it themselves.” “If,” con- tinues Merecier, “you doubt my- word, 8o any Sunday to Ront Neuf at 4 o'clock in the morning and you will see on the banks of the river a number of persons dresséd only in their redin- gotes washing their only ‘shirt. These they . then distend on their canes g9/ that the sun may dry them.” He:fur- ther remarks ‘that the fierce beating of the linen by the washerwomen who congregated on the banks of the Seine could be heard half a mile away. At certain times various parts of the river were forbidden to the women, as their clothes might be contaminated by the impurity of the water from the city refuse. But they persisted in evading the law until its violation was made punishable by public flogging. Later on small flatboats came into use for laundry purposes and on them the lavandieres, the laundresses, beat and soused their garments. In Holland and Belgium the washing was done on the banks of canals or rivers or from the decks of boats. That England early adopted the meth- ods of her nelghbors in the art of washing is attested by the treatment accorded Falstaff in “The Merry Wives of Windsor.”"..When'the oleaginous old beau is trapped he pays for his gal- lantry by belng covered‘with foul linen in the laundry basket. “Look, here is a basket; if he be of ‘any rtdsonable stature, he mey creep in here; and throw foul linen upon him, as 1f it were going to bucking: or it is whiting- time, send him . by your two men to Datchet mead.” ¢ * ® “Carry them to the laundress in et mead.” From this we may infer that clothes &nd new linen were sent.to the mead- ows to be bleached. “whitened” @ or ‘many “bueked” The bleaching was almosz the modern process, use being made o lye from elm ashes @nd suds. Vigorously Picturesque . Milanese In Italy, even to this'“day, washing presents peculiarly One morning in late ‘spring as I too an early walk in Milan T came sud denly while they pounded and clothes the ‘flat stones which lined the banks of the stream. A dirty garment would be caught up, soused upon in the water, thrown ‘on a rock, vigor: ously smedred with “soap, folded over, rubbed more 'vigorously, - then again thrust into the water, ‘then up would come the unfortunate plece of clothi to be unmercifully beatéen by a sort ~of forward lateral movement which sent the by no means pearly drops flying all around. The women chatted and ln.ughed as they worked, and seemed not ‘2ltogether “averse to their watery mesting. In Venice the houses, when seen from a distance, frequently present the appearance of being decorated . with bright _flags. Closer: observation proves the spots of gay red, blue, green and yellow to be the family wash hung ‘out to dry on the windowsilis and on-the iron lace- work balconies. Once:I had the good fortune to teke part in a novel wash- ing. I had a number of handkerchiefs, of them souvenirs of home friends, and it was too risky sending them out to be washed. ‘A happy thought came to me, I went tor a nice, long ride on the Grand canal with an old boatman who had previ- ously taken me & mumber of -times. ‘We had become good friends, as he knew a litfle English, some French and I less Italian; and’furthermore, his ' brother had a son in San Francisco, and I came from the Golden City. When _we -.rrlym at ‘2’ suitable spot 1 tock from my. hlb.t the hotel tin buin. a mu ‘American . vnn’burd . dramatic features. * ° upon a group jof women stand-’ ing knee-deep in nat over-clear water” slashred” wet * e - : : ; The San Francisco Sunday Calld 18 seldom changed mowe than once In two, three, or even four weeks. Family ‘washing is rarely done oftener’' than onge a month. In Germany I was shown huge bins for holding the soiled clothes. . Once in two or three 'months the laundress, with a corps .of assistants, takes cha: of the soapsuds brigade and a | ‘méene of great ucr:emtnl ensyes. The Jhausfrau' makes preparations days in advance for feeding and speeding the y&ffair. Not the least of her excife- 7 ment comes from the knowledge that incidentally she will hear much gossip “that has been withheld from her for mohths, as these ‘washing rallles are also conventions: for ‘an’ interchange “of jdeas, opinlons and scandala; but it's 8. poor rally that does-not-triumph over dirt In Germany; since the laundresses &re both strong and capable. All washerwomen receive In eaddition to the regular wages drink money, though good beer, served In: great anl. is part of the wage. In' England most of the aristocracy during the London season send their ‘washing from their town houses to their country estates. Thare are cer- ”E Mfifl m OrA 5]2")4)‘1 LJUW ¢ ' tain éars for this purpose, and one may often found : éom o i b see great hampers piled high upon one end the handkerchiéfs. 'The salt water the hips, nus. m gestisulat- :::o the washing difeult und ‘the ing =s they sort the huge pfles of - dkerchiets soguired a:truly conti- clothes, these women, who hawe som: nental hllfi-colo a sort of myilh WMMGQ.MWMR :;‘xt("-h?;‘tl.nfk‘;r':l::wr;:ld‘-h’m::r ;:‘:‘tl:: :;OIB Bow-v when I..had dried one traveler hes called the Mlnuo-. clothes to soak: lem on th, ' the la_ and of In our own land we find that Eng- ok Rt 'h:- 2 “"M"w;‘ % "“”‘M ;‘“’"" bar i3 Jou il lien navit and {radition was stamped folding " ana - pu-mc <them ‘between & gigantic grand opers fl?q-tnk e mfl.ri“;h&":fi’fioui; ‘No‘vefig;hz the pages of a couple:of” -uwhn on most Mkm of dramas by aétors who made the first effert toward co-opera- which I sat “return to do tion in .the arts and crafts. On. that during the. “trip . unhcwmth-rm young o the ‘hotel, I telt 1. had;sccomplished girl begins to sing an Alpine lied and. ,,;:’,,:",,;’;’J",":“"mmym,,‘i’:““fxm something on ‘my European tour - w'huh scon all the vol 'in ‘the ¥ra:la, 1a, escort of lusty John Alden, John How- was worth whtle.: * la la'le'lo, and the ‘g0 fAying ma;na Reobert Cattier, . v;er- taken n many r.‘ the - mm hm'“ as if- intent. on . carrying to do the firat American wash- country 1.:.. “stone ‘may: be ©leanness and 'freedom : even: beyond“caiarons for boi‘l’in‘ :;;n:,.::?u:::; scen, perhaps twelve to" tl;sm feet, into th Alps. " Surely this Is washing 1deal-. receptacles, some of which are. now which _flows a /‘continuous: stream of 1zed. While the method of ~washing Pfi:“:‘: ":""?m:’ “‘k“ ‘::;’y i “"b:' i 8! gth o e s w! on a erystal-like mountain water. 3"03“' bere, s elsswhers in Europe; s priml- GieREE of She Sockt WEER on. that you happen by on & was - be af: '-‘"‘L"“-‘;' :::‘“'“’: means, for pattle of the tubs. Testing in one of the heaith resorts ~ fliisk lsundresses are - ash pmuh perched’ high ‘upon :the -mountain. side, famotis' for the fine Charaeter of their Gay W et Day You will witriess & dflnlfl cally plotur- Work,and "' s not. ”finfii for blndl In our own beautitul California one way -to the meads. English hou wives wash with great regularity once "a ‘week on Monday. Sunday ‘evening, €3qus scene. A throng ‘of women, 9f' ‘themr/to go down. every five or six ...fn“’?hi"n{:.:?f :;:2.:.?-“ :!u hy“: young, old, b M lfi @ Ttalian cities or -to- th. of the washtub some one who Possessing powxmh st Lo '“." = fad 's.' _for the qom ¥ ‘d‘.“‘“ 3 wuhl « another-as the trains go by on their’ 1 her soft ayes e day's wash n would sit on the senorita told all aglow, was done, tt steps and eat “watermelons big as yo tubs—and then so r the guitar or the accordion, and it was all s good. And the clothes on the Iine., how gay, how pretty they looksd. We had dresses of purpls, with and red, big flowers of black and whi with rings of white and black. And the lines were | ke big gardens swinging in the 2ir vash is so ugly \ sighed. The Mexican and Indian women did the & for the padres in the misstons, and the former yst do the most beau- tiful work by the anclent method of standing kneedeep in water as they work. For colored garments Spanish soap-bark is used Iv recalls her chitd- the squaw came to in her mountain home. davs. the clothe How trying it was to “br " a new . rarely ¢ without her buck. How the soap had to be hidden because it might disappear to reappear as high gloss on *Jimmie’'s face and arms, or as dull finish on her stringy hair: how the lazy buck would e flat on his back in the sun. smearing him- self with soap, or painting himsel? with red and yellow ocher by the ald of a bit of looking-glass: or perhaps be and his ‘buck friends played poker for the money “Jimmle” was earning at the tub. All this was part of day's wast Tt is surprising to learn bew slow England and continental Europe have been I= applying even the simplest of labor-s: ng s to this domestic industry. Most of the washing ls done outdoors with such aids as soap, lye, sticks' for beating, brushes for scrub- bing and hands for rubbing. In Paris the small blanchisseries number thousands. The wash is called for and returned in baskets carried by graceful laundresses, whose large, rough hands speak eloquently of the absence of the American washboard. 1t was left for the first French entre- preneur in 1633 to do something to- ward centralizing the ipdustry. Ha undertook to do all the washing for the Duc de Nemours for 135 livres per month. This meant that he had to wash nine tablecloths and forty-five napkins a day. as welt as all the per- sonal llnen of a homj'fld of ffty- four souls. Tt was the pame captain of industry who inventefl the hollow iron now used in this country mainly by, the Chinese. 1If the French made the ploneer efforts in the direction of improvement, it remained for the Unit- ed States to completely revelutionize the methods of laundry work. This land might tly be termed the eclean shirt country, for In no othar part of the world does the average man have such frequent changes of shirts and undergarments. The taking of the washing from the home to the eom- mercial laundry gave the first impetus to the invention and ruction of laundry machinery. lished data can be found relative such appliances, for it is only receniy that engineers deemed the matt worth their while. But now there is & growing number of trained mechan- fes who give the subject their entire attention, with the result that the modern commercial laundry must be ranked.among our most Important service industries. Any one who has visited a large steam taundry will be struck by the exceeding simplicity In the construction of the frequently pon- derous and costly machinery. It ¥ simple that an inexperienced woman or child can readily manage it The Objurgated Steam Laundry Jmmense mangles ironing forty-five feet of sheeting per minute sperats with such apparent ease that the uniniti- ated stand fascinated by their quiet be- havior. There are automatie collar and ouft dryers that unaided get things ready for the finishers, and all sorts of In- genlous devices for saving and spoeding labor. A shirt has about twelve oper- atives at work upon it before It is finished, as all work Is plecework That is, one pulls the neck bands, an other starches them. ete. In women's garments all the work is hand worlk, as no machine ceuld possibly be Invented which would meet the complex con- struction of any two Women's gar- ments. This a great economic waste. An up-to-date laundry ls clean, Hght and remarkably sanitary in its arrange- ments. Statisties prove that diseases are rarely if ever spread by the cem- mercial laundry. Steam is a great steriligér, and when disinfectants are added in the boiling process thers ds little danger of contaglon. The thou- sands of galions of hot suds water sent through the sewers in the region of large steam laundries act as powerful sanitary agents, preserving the eity's, health. Though in mechanical equip ment commercial laundries look mor or less alike, there are certain charac- teristics which betray the traditional habit and natural conditions surround- ing them and thelr patrons. These differences in finished laundry work are 80 marked as to make it possible for the globe trotter to say with certalnty, “Show me your linen and I wil tell you the -<country you have sojourned im, or at least halted in. long enough to try to. get clean, for the reality frequently falls short of angicipation.” In New York your wash takes on an ashy hue; in London it approaches lead color; ia Paris it is pale yellow; in Rome it is brown;'in Berlin it approaches white, while in Zurich it is white. There could - scarcely be & greater contrast than that between the modern laundry, - whether commercial or private, and the almost obsolete back kitchen, with its wooden tubs, heavy or water soaked, all the frantic family helping to tide over the Draconian laws of the imevi- table Monday. The domestic barom- eter on that morfing. no matter what the skies, alwalys meant “unsettled ‘weather,” “squalls,” and to the head of the family thunder and lightning. Now we have our trained professio] laundresses, graduates of TuskegeeW.: ot Paul's In Lawrence, where wash- 1s taught not only as a necessary ‘art, but as a fine one. Hunm.g. 1s not enough of these domestic treas. ures to go we must Mk u the rain' elouds. and sing as we did when we ware childrin: